Synopsis
Globalization is such an important word today, but as a concept it is sometimes difficult to grasp. What is globalization? Is it political? Economic? Social? All of the above? In TRAVELS OF A T-SHIRT IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, Pietra Rivoli, a real-world economist, explains how globalization works using a creative, attention-getting, and informative method: she follows the trail of a hypothetical t-shirt as it moves from its origins as cotton grown in Texas, to China where it is manufactured, to Florida where it is sold, and to its final destination as a secondhand item in Tanzania. Each location along the way is an opportunity for Dr. Rivoli to explain issues of politics and markets, and how they affect everyday people. She explains, for example, America's two-century dominance as grower of cotton, but advises that "history shows that almost all dominance in world markets is temporary and that even the most impressive stories of national industrial victories typically end with sobering postscripts of shifting comparative advantage." Rivoli shows the dominance and shifts brought about by globalization.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2005-03-14 |
| Size | | Length: | 254 pages | | Height: | 9.3 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 16.0 oz |
Publisher's Note
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy takes the reader on a fascinating, around-the-world journey to reveal the economic and political lessons from the life story of a simple t-shirt. Over five years, business professor Pietra Rivoli traveled from a Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory to a used clothing market in Africa, to investigate compelling questions about the politics, economics, ethics, and history of modern business and globalization. Using the story of the t-shirt to illustrate the major issues of the globalization debate, this uniquely entertaining business book offers a surprising, enlightening, and balanced look at one of the major topics of our time.
Industry Reviews
"[Rivoli's] writing is at its best when it considers the social dimensions of a global economy...."
Publishers Weekly (03/14/2005)
"It brings history and economics in an enjoyable way..." (<i>Financial Times</i>, 21<sup>st</sup> September 2005)
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"…a fine account of how the countervailing forces of the market and protectionism conflict in combining in a single product…" (<i>Financial Times</i>, 30 July 2005)
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"Rarely is a business book so well written that one would gladly stay up all night to finish it..."  (<i>CIO: Chief Information Officer Magazine</i>, June 15, 2005)
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"Globalization is a hot-button topic that generates strong feelings along with images of boarded-up, independent businesses in America and exploitative sweatshops overseas. But what exactly is it? <i>In The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy</i>, Georgetown University business professor Pietra Rivoli chronicles the round-the-world odyssey of a T-shirt, from Texas cotton-growers to an African used-clothing bazaar, to reveal how the planetary economy really works.<br>
Along the way, we see how entrepreneurial U.S. farmers team with government-sponsored researchers--and take advantage of subsidies and trade barriers--to dominate world cotton production. Migrant workers from Chinese family farms tell why they regard low-wage jobs in Shanghai sewing factories as golden opportunities. And only in that African used-clothing bazaar do we encounter a truly free market where entrepreneurs--perhaps including some future tycoons of the 21st century--utterly rely on pure business skills and instinct. Whether you feel hurt or helped by globalization, you'll certainly understand it better after reading this fascinating account." (<i>Entrepreneur Magazine</i>, May 2005
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"...full of memorable characters and vivid scenes..." [and that] "Rivoli excels at making connections." (<i>Time</i> Magazine, March 28, 2005)
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"T-shirts may not have changed the world; but this story is a useful account of how free trade and protection certainly have." (<i>Financial Times</i>)
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"<i>The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy</i> is an excellent piece of work - a thorough, lucid and (best of all) honest examination of how politics and economics intertwine in the real world." (<i>The Philadelphia Inquirer</i>)
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"Engrossing….(Rivoli) goes wherever the t-shirt goes and there are surprises around every corner…full of memorable characters and vivid scenes" (<i>TIME</i>)
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"Her nuanced and fair-minded approach is all the more powerful for eschewing the pretense of ideological absolutism, and her telescopic look through a single industry has all the makings of an economics classic." (<i>New York Times</i>)
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"…Succeeds admirably… T-shirts may not have changed the world, but this story is a useful account of how free trade and protectionism certainly have." (<i>Financial Times</i>)
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"…a fascinating exploration of the history, economics and politics of world trade…<i>The Travels of a T-Shirt</i> is a thought-provoking yarn that exhibits the ugly, the bad and the good of globalization, and points to the unintended positive consequences of the clash between the proponents and opponents of free trade." (<i>Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram</i>)
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"…a readable and evenhanded treatment of the complexities of world trade… As Rivoli repeatedly makes clear, there is absolutely nothing free about free trade except the slogan." (<i>San Francisco Chronicle</i>)
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